Training

Puppy Day School Success Story: Alice [VIDEO]

Puppy Day School Success Story - Alice | Puppy Socialization in Providence, RIMeet Alice! She is a 9-month-old Border Collie mix puppy. Her owner enrolled her in our Puppy Day School program to work on her socialization skills around other dogs.

Alice missed her critical socialization period while waiting to be adopted. Then, shortly after coming to her new home, she broke her leg and had to be kept quiet for several weeks. She was nervous of new places, unfamiliar people, and most other dogs.

This is a typical outcome when puppies are underexposed to the “real world.” As […]

By |2016-09-27T00:57:37-04:00September 27, 2016|Videos, Training|Comments Off on Puppy Day School Success Story: Alice [VIDEO]

Capturing Your Dog’s Behavior: A How-To Guide

Over the last several weeks, I have written about shaping and luring here on Spring Forth Dog Blog. My next topic is capturing, which is a pretty simple, straightforward way to get behavior!

Terrier Head Tilt Clicker training allows you to capture a behavior, like this terrier’s adorable tilted head, so you can put it on cue in the future! (Photo Credit: Mike Weston)

Getting Started with Capturing

Simply put, capturing involves waiting for the dog to do the ENTIRE behavior you are looking for with no prompts from you, then clicking […]

Luring Your Dog: A Primer

Last week I started off my series on “How to Get Behavior” with shaping. Now I’m going to explain a bit about luring and how to use a lure to teach behavior.

The term luring refers to the use of a desired reward to coax the dog into achieving the desired behavior. The “desired reward” is nearly always a food treat, but it is possible to lure with toys. Luring can be used to teach many behaviors, including sit, down, loose leash walking, and a lot of tricks.

How to Lure

I use food lures in my group training classes unless the owner […]

By |2016-03-07T17:15:10-05:00March 10, 2016|Training, Tutorials and How-To Guides|Comments Off on Luring Your Dog: A Primer

Introduction to Dog Agility Class [VIDEO]

It’s no secret that dog agility is my passion. 2016 is going to be my 12th consecutive year of competing in this great sport. For several years, I’ve taught beginner dog agility classes in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. I decided to put together a video showing what I teach in this introductory class to give prospective students an idea of what to expect.

So, welcome to our Introduction to Dog Agility class!

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA7o25KZ44g[/embedyt]

Who should take this class?

My focus with this class is introducing the basic skills of dog agility: over, under, around, through, and on – with a variety of objects. These items have […]

By |2022-02-07T20:40:11-05:00March 4, 2016|Dog Agility, Dog Sports, Group Classes, Training, Videos|Comments Off on Introduction to Dog Agility Class [VIDEO]

How to Get Behavior: Shaping

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel on a mat. Cricket has been taught to lie on her mat using shaping.

When it comes to positive reinforcement based clicker training, there are four major ways of getting behavior: shaping, luring, targeting, and capturing. There are other ways, including physical modeling, but they have limited applications and are rarely used by most force-free trainers. In this post, I’ll address shaping, and in the coming weeks, I’ll follow-up with the others.

Shaping

What is shaping? Shaping is a method of building behavior “from scratch” by clicking successive approximations […]

Successful Dog Adoption – The First Week

Adopting a new dog is a very exciting time for you and your new friend. The biggest mistake that new dog owners make is giving the dog too much freedom, too soon. By setting some ground rules as soon as you bring your dog home, you can prevent bad behaviors from starting in the first place.

Puppy for Adoption Follow some simple guidelines when you bring your new dog home, and things will go much more smoothly. (Photo Credit: Ian Phillips)

Introduce the dog to the house slowly. Giving your dog complete access to […]

By |2016-02-23T21:04:59-05:00February 23, 2016|Training|Comments Off on Successful Dog Adoption – The First Week

Training How-To: Adding a Cue

Teaching the Sit Cue The cue “sit” was only added when we were willing to bet $10 that this puppy would put her bum on the ground immediately after we said it.

What is a cue? A cue is a name or label for a particular behavior. It is the “green light” for the dog that tells it “perform that behavior now to get rewarded”. Once a behavior is on cue, the dog should only offer it upon perceiving the cue.

The most common examples of cues in dog training are words like “sit” or “down,” […]

By |2017-12-30T03:54:09-05:00January 4, 2016|Training, Tutorials and How-To Guides|Comments Off on Training How-To: Adding a Cue

Creative Puppy Socialization

Good puppy socialization requires a bit of creativity. Read on some suggestions for getting your new addition “out and about” in the real world.

Puppy Socialization with Firefighter Always be on the lookout for new people for your puppy to meet! This German Shepherd puppy is learning that people in uniform are a good thing. (Photo by Nicholas Wadler)

Remember that when socializing your puppy, your goal should always be exposure without overwhelming him. We want your puppy to experience novel things without getting scared […]

By |2017-12-30T04:20:29-05:00December 31, 2015|Helpful Hints, Puppies, Training, Tutorials and How-To Guides|Comments Off on Creative Puppy Socialization

How to Teach Your Dog Self-Control Around Food: VIDEO

In one of my previous blog posts about self-control versus imposed control for dogs, I explained that I do not teach “leave it” to my dogs. Instead, I train my dogs to wait for permission to take food, objects, or anything else they want.

Here is a quick video demonstration of how I train dogs to have self-control around food.

Keys to Training

Siberian Husky Self-Control Around Food One of our students demonstrating self-control around food. Great job, Willow! (Photo: Smiling […]

By |2020-05-27T14:14:45-04:00December 28, 2015|Training, Tutorials and How-To Guides|Comments Off on How to Teach Your Dog Self-Control Around Food: VIDEO

The Power of Peanut Butter

Peanut Butter Behold! One of the most versatile dog training tools known to man. (Photo Credit: Victoria Chilinski)

What’s your favorite training tool? Dog trainers are always looking for the latest and greatest items to add to their bag of tricks. My answer can be found at any supermarket or convenience store: peanut butter!

For Agility Dogs

My passion for peanut butter began while attending agility classes with Tessie. She is a whiner, and would anxiously await her next turn on the equipment by making all sorts of strange noises. Springers are capable of making […]

Training How-To: Loose Leash Walking

What is loose leash walking? Loose leash walking is an informal leash walking behavior. It’s not “heeling”, which is a precision walking behavior required for obedience competitions, but it can be a precursor to that. While loose leash walking it is acceptable if your dog sniffs, lags behind you, or forges ahead of you a little bit, as long as the leash stays loose.

Keeping the leash loose is a two-way street. Remember, your dog can’t walk politely if you are pulling her! (Photo Credit: Dave Fayram)

Why does my dog […]

By |2015-12-09T17:29:13-05:00December 14, 2015|Training, Tutorials and How-To Guides|Comments Off on Training How-To: Loose Leash Walking

Training How-To: Get on the Mat

Dog on a Bed You can use any object as your dog’s mat! Dog beds are a popular choice, but towels and small blankets work well, too. (Photo Credit: Howard Young)

What is “Get on the Mat”? The dog learns to relax on a ‘mat’ – a specific towel, blanket, or dog bed. This mat can be moved to any location, like your kitchen, the vet’s office, or the car, and your dog will know to stay on it and relax.

Why does my dog need to know it? Getting on a mat […]

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